SYDNEY, Australia -- In her most-watched run since winning the 400 meters at the 2000 Sydney Games, Cathy Freeman on Friday carried the Olympic flame on the first leg of its worldwide torch relay.
Thousands of people watched and millions more tuned in on television to see Freeman take the flame from the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House on a clear winter morning.
After a welcoming ceremony involving Greek priestesses and Aborigines, Freeman, who lit the cauldron at the 2000 opening ceremonies, ran another 400 meters with the torch to a harborside cafe as crowds lining the route cheered.
Earlier, the Athens flame arrived in Sydney aboard a Greek chartered jumbo jet painted in Olympic colors and dubbed "Zeus" for a two-day stay in Australia. On Saturday it will be Melbourne, site of the 1956 Olympics.
Contained in a lantern aboard the plane, the flame traveled by car, with a police guard, to the Sydney Opera House.
Dozens of Australian sports stars will be involved in the relay in both Australian cites, the first two cities on the tour. The torch leaves Saturday evening for Tokyo, site of the 1964 Games.
The flame was lit in Ancient Olympia on March 25 and taken to Athens' marble stadium, where the first modern Olympics were held in 1896. It started a 46,800-mile journey across six continents and 33 cities when it left Athens on Wednesday.
All past Summer Olympic host cities are on the relay route as well as 2008 host Beijing.
The torch relay returns to Greece on July 9 for the second half of its domestic relay before the start of the Olympics on Aug. 13.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
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